1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brushless electric machine and an apparatus using the same, and particularly to a brushless electric machine that utilizes permanent magnets and a magnet coil.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term “brushless electric machine” refers to both brushless motors and brushless generators. Known brushless motors include that disclosed in JP-A-2001-298982, for example.
In conventional brushless electric machines, operation is controlled through appropriate switching of the direction of the electric current applied to the coil, or the direction of the regenerative current. However, the controller circuitry for carrying out switching of current direction is complex in design, and loss associated with switching operations has been a problem.